Ryan Blagg | Assistant Coach

Ryan Blagg, the 2017 Jan Strickland Award winner as the nation’s outstanding assistant coach, is in his sixth season with the Baylor men’s golf program and his eighth season as a Division I coach. The Bears have advanced to NCAA Regional play in all five of Blagg’s seasons, including a pair of NCAA Championship berths.

Last season, Blagg helped the Bears to the most successful year in program history. The 2016-17 BU squad won four tournaments and had a streak of seven consecutive top-three finishes. The Bears won the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate, the All-American, the Linger Longer Invitational and shared the title with the tournament host at the NCAA Stanford Regional. BU also took second place at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and the Aggie Invitational. BU earned its first-ever No. 1 national ranking in Golfweek’s April 3, 2017, poll.

Baylor advanced to match play at the 2017 NCAA Championship, earning the program’s best finish with a tie for fifth place after falling 3-2 in a 19th hole playoff against eventual national champion Oklahoma.

A trio of players on the 2016-17 squad earned All-America honors, with Braden Bailey, Cooper Dossey and Matthew Perrine all recognized. Dossey was named 2017 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was selected to the five-member GCAA All-Freshmen Team. Hunter Shattuck and Garrett May joined that trio to give the Bears a school-record five All-Region honorees.

In 2015-16, Blagg guided the Bears to their first NCAA Championship berth since 2010. Baylor advanced to the NCAA Kohler (Wis.) Regional, where the Bears mounted a back-nine comeback in the final round of the regional, combining for 17 birdies to finish tied for fourth and earn one of five NCAA Championship spots awarded at the regional.

BU placed 27th at the NCAA Championship, marking the then-fifth-best end-of-season finish in program history. The 2015-16 Baylor squad claimed tournament titles at the Oak Hills Invitational and the Border Olympics, finished second in The Maxwell Intercollegiate and recorded nine top-five finishes in 13 tournaments.

In 2014-15, Blagg led the Bears to three tournament titles and seven top-three finishes. Baylor finished in seventh place or better in every tournament, placing in the top half of the field in 11 of 12 events. Baylor also advanced to the NCAA Bremerton, Ore., Regional. BU finished in sixth place in Bremerton, one spot back of an NCAA Championship berth.

The Bears claimed tournament titles at the Gopher Invitational, Oak Hills Invitational and Border Olympics. BU also placed second at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate and finished in third place at the Fighting Illini Invitational, Rod Myers Invitational and Bayou City Collegiate Championship.

In 2013-14, Blagg helped the Bears to top-five finishes in nine of 11 regular season tournaments, including seven times in the top three. Baylor also advanced to the NCAA West Regional in Eugene, Ore., where the Bears finished in 10th place. Additionally, Blagg helped coach Kyle Jones, who became the 12th All-American in program history.

In his first season with the Bears, Blagg helped guide the team to seven top-five finishes, including a tournament title at the 2012 Warrior-Wave Intercollegiate. The Bears earned a berth in the 2013 NCAA Pullman Regional, where they finished in 10th place.

Blagg spent two seasons at Houston Baptist, where he helped the women’s program capture its second- and third-straight Great West Conference championships. In 2011, he guided the Great West Conference individual medalist, player of the year and four other all-conference selections.

Prior to Houston Baptist, Blagg served as the Head Rules Official and then the Tournament Director for The Gateway Tour. He played professionally for six years on the Adams, Hooters and Nationwide Tours, recording multiple top-five finishes.

He played collegiately at Arkansas, where he graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He was named to the SEC Honor Roll each of his three seasons in Fayetteville. He began his collegiate career at Tyler Junior College, where he played for former Baylor head coach Greg Priest and led the team to the 1998 NJCAA National Championship, earning All-American and Academic All-American honors. Blagg is married to the former Lindsay Marshall, and the couple has a son named Cooper.